Pearl Harbor Memorial Near Its Fundraising Goal

JOLIET — About $4,000 more is needed to meet the fundraising goal for an Illinois memorial to the Americans who died in Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941.

Of the estimated $37,000 needed to erect a memorial in the new Lincoln National Cemetery near Joliet, $33,000 has so far been received by the Northern Illinois Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.

"We're getting real close," said James C. Elliott of Tinley Park. Elliott, 78, who is heading the effort and was on duty as a coast guardsman at Pearl Harbor when the attack took place.

More than 2,400 service personnel and civilians were killed in the attack, with Illinois suffering the second highest number of losses.

A newspaper story about the Survivors Association's efforts to raise money for the memorial that was published last December drew in approximately $10,000 in donations, Elliott said. Most of the donations have come from individuals and veterans organizations, he said.

The planned 18-foot high memorial will be a granite obelisk topped by an eagle with outstretched wings. The Survivors Association hopes to have the monument completed and in place in time for a dedication ceremony Dec. 7. It will be the last state memorial commemorating the attack. Every other state already has one, Elliott said.